Method of and apparatus for filling portable receptacles



July 8, 1941. F. K, KNUDSEN METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FILLING PORTABLE RECEPTACLES Filed Jan. 6, 1939 Patented July 8, 1941 or AND APPARATUS FOR FILLING PORTABLE RECEPTACLES METHOD Frederick K. Knudsen, Baltimore, Md, assigno'r" to" The. Porcelain" Enamel -& Manufacturing lcmpa'ny of Baltimore, Baltimore, Md;, a corporation-of Maryland Application lattes s, 1939,, Serial No. 249,625

' 4' Claims. (01. 226-48) The present invention relatestothe filling oi valve-provided bags with granular particles of a highly abrasive nature, said particles being characterized by sharp points and. edges; v- I\/lore particularly, the invention, is directed to the feeding and filling of bags with porcelain enamel frit, the latter being produced by smelting the irit components and then shattering themolten or semi-molten enamel by introducing the-same into a relatively cold aqueous bath.

It is well known that'porcelain enamel frit is used to produce a porcelain finish and it is. of great importance that successive quantities of the frit produced have'uniform chemical and p ysical properties. Therefore, the frit should be substantially free of. contaminants, such as iron or iron alloys.

It maybe further. pointedout that When-the porcelain enamel is'shattered there is produced a granular material of non-uniform grain size, the particles of the material being of such a size that approximately 52% of the same remains on a 14 mesh sieveand 77% on a mesh-sieve and 87% on a 40 mesh. sieve. Itshas hitherfor been proposed to fill valve-bags, that is, self-sealing bags, which automatically efiect closure due to the pressure of the. material contained inflthe bag, with very finely ground or powdered substances, as. for example Portland cement. However, it has been found extremely difficulh'if not impossible,.to'fill suchbags with frit due tothe fact that in the mechanisms used for filling such types of bags, the hard sharply pointed and sharply edgedmaterial separated ortended to separate-the leaves of the valve and prevented the formation of an effective closure, thus in some instances inducing leakage.

It has, in'the past, not been possible to introduce these materials of the character set forth into valve type bags of the bottom valve type, due to the tendency of the granular material to prevent the closure of the valve, and attempts to introduce the granular materials in the side valve type bags have not met with success, due to the fact that the material must be forced into'thebag with sufi'icient velocity to pass completely through the valve, otherwise, a complete closure of the valve cannot be efiected. However, if a sufiicient velocity is used in the ordinary type of conveyor or filling mechanism, the high velocity of the material, typified by frit, will strike the side of t e bag with sufiicient force to abrade or weaken the same. Means for intro'ducing granular materials in the side tube valve bags have faileddue to the fact that it has not been possible to "fill thebag andproperly 0 place the material therein asin the case ofattempts to fill the bag bygravity. Due to the abrasive action of the materiaLattempts to force the material into the bag under pressure must be'made with great care; thus the; use of a thrower type filler which-is successful in some cases cannot be used with-vitreous-comminuted materials, as for example, porcelain enamelfrits,

or ceramic glaze frits,.due'to the fact that the abrasion of the material on the mechanism-gives rise to the introduction of contaminants: into the material, making it worthless for ultimate use.

When a conveyor of the revolving screw type is used to feed the highly abrasive material hereinbefore set forth, the contact of the material with the screw and the tube in which the screw revolves will abrade and separate'therefromfinely divided iron or iron alloy particles which causes contamination of the material being conveyed. It i-s-oneof the basic features of the present invention thatthe hard granular abrasive material having sharp points and edges is prior to its delivery to a bag or other receptacle, adapted tobe filled, passed through a conveyor capable ofinhibiting the abrasion thereof by the frit.

One type of conveyor which has given. very Satisfactory results is a" reciprocating conveyor of the magnetically operated type, in which the driving impulsesare delivered to a conveyor tube at an angle. In this type of conveying mechanism' the conveyor tube is" supported by cantilevers or spring-like members which are energized' or released by a suitable driving motor which preferably is of the electromagnetic type. Itvis preferred that the movement imparted to the conveyor tube shall have a directionalcomponent parallel to the tube as well as acomponent perpendicular therewith. In this type of mechanism it is also desirable thatthe tube be given a periodic vibratorymovement whereby a series of .small movements in rapid succession are imparted to the material. In this type of conveyor the material appears to pass along the conveyor tube in a series of hops, actually touching the tube surfaceonly at intervals. As an example of the frequencies of oscillating to be employed it is believed that vibratory frequencies between 3,000 and 7,000 cycles per minute are suitable.

In accordance with the present invention, a method is provided which substantially elimi nates the disadvantages residing in the: prior methods of feeding "granular abrasive. materials having sharp points and edges, into a flexible container. More specifically the present invention is directed to a method of feeding hard granular particles characterized by sharp points and edges and more particularly porcelain enamel having the above properties, to a flexible bag normally subject to abrasion and weakening upon contact with frit moving at a relatively high velocity, said method comprising passing said particles through a conveyor capable of inhibiting the abrasion thereof by the frit, and introducing the sharply edged particles into said bag while substantially preventing abrasion or weakening of the bag. Aspointed out a reciprocating magnetically operated conveyor is representative of one type of mechanism which substantially eliminates the contamination of the material being fed by virtue of the abrasion action of the material on the conveyor material.

In a conveyor of the magnetically operated type, it is not possible to support the container directly on the conveyor as this has a dampening effect on the feeding of the material through the conveyor and causes or tends to cause stoppage of the feed. Therefore, in the preferred form of the invention the container or bag is supported out of contact with the conveyor to thereby substantially inhibit any dampening effect on the conveyor feed.

In the accompanying drawing, like characters of reference indicate like parts in the several views, and:

Figure 1 is a schematic longitudinal section through an apparatus suitable for carrying out r:

the present invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view thereof.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary section on the line 33 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3, but showing a modification thereof.

Figure 5 is a side view partly broken away of a bag adapted to be used in carrying out the present invention.

Referring specifically to the drawing and more particularly Figure 1, there is disclosed a frame I from the upper part of which depends a receiving hopper H having at its lower end a relatively small rectangular neck or spout I2, to which lead the inclined sides I3 of the hopper I I. This hopper receives material from a weighing or supply hopper I4 provided at its lower end with flow controlling means of any suitable character and here indicated by a gate valve [5.

It is to be understood that the gate valve I is merely symbolic of any suitable apparatus that i may be used to control the flow of materials from the supply hopper. In actual operation an automatic scale may be placed beneath the supply bin I4 which automatically empties 100 pounds of frit into the receiving hopper.

Extending from one side of the frame I0 is a tubular member or guard I6 which has its outer end beveled as at I! to provide an outwardly and downwardly opening terminal outlet. Reciprocably mounted in the guard I6 is the tubular member I8 of a reciprocating conveyor which member has a rectangular socket I9 at its inner end. The socket I9 receives the neck I2 and is sufiiciently longer than said neck that the member I8 may reciprocate longitudinally with respect to said neck.

A bar 29 connects the member I8 with a reciprocating mechanism, the casing only of which is shown at 2|. This mechanism may be any one of the standard mechanisms used for the purpose of producing a slow advance of the tube or member I8 and a rapid retraction of such tube whereby a step-by-step forward movement is imparted to the material in the tube [8.

At 22 is a platform oscillatably supported on a pivotal support 23 so that, as in Figure 3, it may be oscillated by foot power. In Figure 4 the platform 22 is shown as supported upon suitable camming surfaces or the like 23a so that upon operation of the motor 24 the platform will be oscillated. A bag B having a side closure B is supported on this platform and the side closure, in the form of a tubular extension, is slipped over the end of the guard I6 so that the guard end is over the center of the bag.

Preferably the end of the guard is inserted into the bag for a sufiicient distance to support the bag. In actual operation, it is sometimes necessary to insert a guard into the bag until the end of the guard practically reaches the far side of the bag. In this event, the beveled edge I! is important since it permits this insertion while preventing too great an insertion from closing the outset end of the guard. Upon operation of the mechanism, material is delivered from the hopper I4 to the hopper II, passes down into tube I8 and by the reciprocatory motion of the latter is conveyed to the beveled outlet I'I into the bag.

It is to be noted that the bag ordinarily used is a very heavy six-ply bag and will not be sufficiently expanded by the weight of the material to receive its full hundred pound charge. It is therefore desirable, if not necessary, when the bag has received about fifty or seventy-five pounds of its charge, to move the platform 22 in an upward direction, as shown in dotted lines in Figures 3 and 4, in order to expand or assist in expanding the bag. Upon expansion of the bag, the frit will fill out the bag or assist in filling out the bag.

It is desired to point out that in the preferred form of the invention the bag which is used is a side and bottom closure bag, that is, a bag provided at and adjacent its bottom with a side valve closure.

As shown in Figure 1, the bottom portion of the bag containing the valve memberis placed upon the guard I6. It is to be noted that what is designated the top portion of the bag is completely closed and sealed by a sewn thread member T adapted to be removed by pulling the thread, this in effect providing a tear opening.

By means of the movement of the platform 22, the bag is uniformly filled and expanded while the closure is protected by the guard so that upon removal of thebag from the guard and platform the closure can be folded and will thereafter be kept in closed position by the material within the bag. I

In carrying out the present invention, it is desirable to use a heavy relatively stiff six-ply bag because such a bag will withstand the hard service ordinarily expected in the packaging and conveyance of firit and similar materials... It may, in some instances, be desirable to provide bags of different weights; and strengths; In some some instances, where lighter bags are used and/or the weight of the material is sufficient to expand the bag, the use of an expanding mechanism such as the reciprocating platform 22, is not necessary. 1

It is desired to point out'that the present invention is particularly adapted to the feeding and packaging in the absence of contaminating constituents of granular materials of a highly abrasive nature, where it is of the utmost importance that the commodity which is being bagged is free of impurities. For example, the present invention may be applied to the bagging of porcelain enamel frit, ceramic frits, such as pottery frits, glass frits, broken up glass cullet, carborundum, emery, alundum and other granular minerals having a high degree of hardness and therefore abrasive in character, said minerals being typified by rutile, zirconium oxide, milled zirconium silicate.

It is desired to point out that the thrower type of mechanism which is used with great success in packing certain types of material, such as flour and sugar, cannot be used for packaging materials such as porcelain enamel frits since the throwing device not only contaminates the frit, but is rapidly destroyed by the action of the materials upon the paddle wheel. Using the device of the present invention, not only is the abrasion of the conveyor element substantially reduced or entirely inhibited because of the short period of contact of the frit with the material of the conveyor elements, but further the porcelain enamel frit does not exert any corrosion or erosive action upon the material of the conveyor elements. The reduction of the corrosion is another advantage flowing from the use of the conveyor of the present invention. The use of a blower type of mechanism in connection with a paper bag, or for that matter a bag of any material which would be damaged by the impact thereagainst of sharply pointed materials has not been successful when sufficient air blast is used to get the grit into the bag, the force of the impact of the hard granular material having sharp points and edges causing the bag to be pinched, torn or so weakened as to make the finally bagged material utterly useless.

What is claimed is:

1. In a device for filling bags having an automatic self-closure opening with a highly abrasive granular material capable of contamination, an angularly reciprocating hollow conveyor member extending through said self-closure opening and adapted to receive and feed said material while substantially inhibiting contamination thereof by conveyor abrasion, means connected to said'hollow conveyor member and adapted to impart thereto a reciprocating motion having vertical and horizontal components and of a relatively high frequency, means to feed said material into the interior of said hollow conveyor member and opening there-into at the end of the conveyor member remote from said bag, and

a stationary guard member adjacent the bag end of said conveyor member, said guard member being positioned to support said bag in feeding position out of contact with said conveyor member to thereby prevent dampening of conveyor movement.

2. The method of feeding and filling material composed of hard granular particles characterized by sharp points and edges to a portable flexible bag having a filling opening and subjected to abrasion and weakenins upon contact with the material moving at a relatively high velocity comprising, inserting a hollow conveyor membar into said bag through said opening, simultaneously expanding the opening and simultaneously supporting the bag out of contact with said conveyor member, feeding said material to the interior of said conveyor member and passing said material through said hollow conveyor memher into said bag by subjecting said member and material to an angular high frequency movement having horizontal and vertical components 7 to minimize contact between said conveyor memher and the material and thereby inhibiting abrasion of said conveyor member by the material.

3. In a device for feeding automatic self-closure bags with a highly abrasive material capable of contamination, a movable conveyor tube extending into said bag for feeding said material passing therethrough, means to impart an angular reciprocating motion having both horizontal and vertical components to said conveyor tube in a direction and of a frequency to feed said material while substantially inhibiting contamination thereof by conveyor abrasion, means to supply material to the interior of said tube and a stationary guard member surrounding said conveyor tube and adapted to support said bag out of contact with said conveyor tube.

4. In a device for filling side valve opening bags with a highly abrasive material capable of contamination, a movable conveyor tube extending into said bag for feeding said material passing therethrough, means to impart an angular reciprocating motion having both horizontal and vertical components to said conveyor tube in a direction and of a frequency to feed said material While substantially inhibiting contamination thereof by conveyor abrasion, means to supply material to the interior of said tube and a stationary guard member surrounding said conveyor tube and adapted to extend into said bag through said side valve opening and to support said bag out of contact with said conveyor tube.

FREDERICK K. KNUDSEN! 

